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This is the most ridiculous, unexpected, weekend-improving news you could possibly ask for: a few weeks after Kim Deal quit the Pixies—er, again—the band in the dead of night sent out a link to their first new song since 2004’s “Bam Thwock” and the second new bit of music since 1993’s terribly underrated Trompe le Monde. This thing is called “Bagboy,” and it is … titanic.

My god, I am really just too excited to say much more, but I will do my damndest. The site offering the track as a free download puts it cryptically: “Cover your breath … polish your teeth … BAGBOY.” Kim Deal does her usual fantastic backing vocals for a simply massive chorus while Frank Black talk-sings the chugging verses. This is so what you want to hear right now.

Apparently the song was recorded as long as last year ago, in Wales, but luckily we didn’t have to experience that excruciating wait, just: surprise, new awesome song. Now all we need is for the Pixies to tour with My Bloody Valentine for an ear-bleeding noisefest. “Bagboy” comes with a delightful video as well, so get your fix both ways.

● The Pixies, Klaxons, and Gorillaz have all canceled tour dates in Israel following last week’s attack on a Gaza-bound group of aid ships. [JP] ● The top 10 “Could Have Been Kanye” moments at last night’s MTV Movie Awards include a live feed of Lindsay Lohan’s blood alcohol level, followed by a live Dr. Drew intervention. [Celebuzz] ● Justin Long and Mike White get married, make fun of straight people. They’re both Macs, really. [Vulture]

● Coolio got a tattoo in honor of his tour mates Insane Clown Posse, a generally questionable move made all the worse by the fact that it includes a spelling mistake. [TMZ] ● A work-out video set to music by Sleigh Bells is exciting on many levels, most of them cardiovascular. [Sound of the City] ● Jessica Simpson is angling for an indie rock husband, possibly starting with Bon Iver, likely in an effort to overtake her sister Ashlee a.k.a Mrs. Pete Wentz. [The L Magazine]

From pump sneakers to hypercolor clothes to sexual predators in AOL chatrooms, the 90s had it all. But many of the decade’s self-indulgent fads have been lost to history, much like many of the era’s formerly memorable musical acts. Some were really good, some were so bad they were good, and some were bad enough that it’s good they’re gone. There are many ways for a band to die, but dead or not, a few still hold a special place in our memory and/or playlist.

(‘’)1. Beastie Boys – What other band on earth could get away with a line like “I want to stir fry you in my wok” and not sound insane, pathetic, or both? The Beastie Boys helped define rap for the white kids of the 90s, paving the way for Eminem and the like. We miss the Beastie Boys, but at least this band had a good reason for dipping out of the pop scene: Rapper MCA had a difficult bout of cancer. Since he’s alive and well, we think the band needs to breathe the same life back into their careers and put out another album. 2. Soul Asylum – Many people think Soul Asylum was a one-hit wonder. This is totally false. They had two good songs: “Runaway Train” and “Black Gold!” And we’d like to hear more of those two songs on the radio. Where did that runaway train end up, anyway?

3. Better Than Ezra – This was the perfect middle-of-the-road 90s band. They were not too edgy, not too bold, not too flamboyant, and not too flashy. That may be the reason they fell into obscurity. We may never know, but what’s clear is that “it was good living with you,” Better Than Ezra. It was damn good. 4. Soundgarden – Soundgarden helped create the grunge rock scene, but they always seem to get overlooked. Nirvana and Pearl Jam somehow managed to squeeze Chris Cornell and the boys out of the limelight. For years we’ve longed for the day when Soundgarden would darken our sky once more with a “Black Hole Sun.” And with a reunion plan in the works, it looks like our pathetic little prayers may have been answered.

5. Nine Inch Nails – While Nine Inch Nails didn’t completely disappear, Trent Reznor and the gang sure seem to have been in hiding over the past decade. Perhaps his pale skin keeps him from coming out into the open. Sure, he used to spend a great deal of time on social networking sites like Twitter, but he swore off them in mid-2009 after having one too many run-ins with a group of internet trolls. From the looks of it, he may have sworn off getting his music on the radio as well. 6. Björk – Björk is actually still around, but she’s not doing anything notable. In our opinion, the world needs more music videos with cute rocker chicks dancing on moving semi trucks. While Björk wasn’t the biggest hit of the 90s, she certainly made her mark. She’s by far our favorite 90s rocker to come out of Iceland anyway. 7. Smashing Pumpkins – The world needs more old-school Smashing Pumpkins. We’re not just talking about the band. We should all go out and smash some more pumpkins. The radio of the 90s was dominated by the swill of watered-down ska and pseudo-big bands. Luckily, the Pumpkins were there to cut through the crap. They broke up in 2000 and have since reunited, but it’s just not the same. Oh well, despite all my rage, yada yada yada.

8. Rage Against The Machine – Rage was just too angsty to stay together for a whole decade. It wasn’t that their music was dated or anything, but after Tibet was freed (right?) their mission as a band was accomplished, and they all decided to concentrate on other things. Recently, they did get together to play some of their old songs, but a complete reunion hasn’t happened. We want our Rage. 9. 311 – 311 had some serious hits, but we hardly ever hear them on the radio anymore. This is probably due to their name. Since it’s comprised only of numbers, it doesn’t show up on the alphabetical lists used by modern DJs. If they had been named AAB, we’d hear them all the time, and it would be awesome.

10. The Pixies – When people think of the Pixies, they tend to imagine buildings crashing down while Edward Norton holds hands with Helena Bonham Carter. Considering the song used in Fight Club is one of their best, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On the other hand, “Where Is My Mind” wasn’t their only good song. Maybe if today’s DJs would play more of their catalog the world would know that. 11. Guns N’ Roses – Despite the recent release of Chinese Democracy, Guns N’ Roses has been under the radar for a while. All that’s left is Axl Rose and a bunch of people you don’t know. Slash and the rest moved on and currently play in Velvet Revolver with Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots. But we still have an appetite for destruction, and right now the world could use some G.N.R. 12. MC Hammer – Who could ever forget the pants that this man popularized? They were so big and flashy that the aeronautics industry tested them for parachute durability. Somehow, Hammer blew all the money he made off of songs like “Can’t Touch This” and “Hammer Time.” Luckily, later in life he found Jesus and made some of it back. Now maybe Jesus can get him back on the radio.

13. Ace of Base – I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes to the fact that we haven’t heard from Ace of Base in more than ten years. It’s too bad. They made catchy girl music that didn’t pretend to be anything it wasn’t. We’re not trying to say that it was riveting, life-changing music, but we hummed along when it came on the radio, and so did you. Admit it! 14. Counting Crows – For many bands, there comes a point in time when dreadlocks just won’t carry the music any longer. The Counting Crows reached that point in the 90s, which explains why you don’t hear from them. Seriously though, we could all use a little more air time for “Mr. Jones.” And considering that the band is still touring, there’s always hope. 15. Crash Test Dummies – No one here is claiming that the Crash Test Dummies are any good. But you have to respect a band whose first hit has a refrain that’s simply humming: “Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm.” Bold move.

16. Live – Live hit it big in 1994 with their breakthrough album Throwing Copper. Although they fell out of the spotlight soon afterwards, no one bothered to inform the band. Apparently they’ve been touring and recording music all this time. It was only in November of 2009 that guitarist Chad Taylor announced he was leaving the band. 17. Oasis – Only the Beatles can claim to be bigger than Jesus and get away with it. Oasis learned this the hard way. But despite their self-indulgent tendencies, they were still a decent band. Unfortunately, no one remembers them beyond select singles (ahem, “Wonderwall”), so Jesus wins.

18. House of Pain – Seriously though, couldn’t you go for a little “Jump Around” right now? Come on, it’s an easy song. The lyrics are the same as the title, and the only other words you have to remember are “I came to get down.” There’s something to be said for simplicity.

19. Gwar – Are the days of massive costumes and crazy face-paint over? If so, that explains why we haven’t heard much from Gwar. Kids today just don’t want a sci-fi/horror spectacle when they listen to music. They’d rather listen to Adam Lambert while they watch Avatar. Pussies.

Over at the Hammerstein Ballroom, as part of a three night stand, The Pixies performed the entirety of their seminal ’89 album Doolittle. On paper, this seemed to me brilliant, the kind of felicitous idea I might dream about but never actually expect to see happen. Of course, having seen the Pogues reform, Sonic Youth run through every track of Daydream Nation and a couple other who’d-a-thunk-it concert events in the past few years, I’m growing more accustomed to seeing these things realized. Maybe that accounts for why I feel the show only partly delivered.

Anyone who’s seen the Pixies live, whether during their heyday or at the more recent reunion shows, can attest to their lack of stage presence. This, in and of itself, is not necessarily the worst thing in the world. It worked well enough for The Strokes after all. But whereas that group seems to have had a band meeting re: how to affect the most stoic version of cool possible, the Pixies appear simply bored if not vaguely irritated with one another. I understand that these four don’t get along (every student of the band’s history knows that Black Francis once famously broke up the group via fax), but they’ve been back on the road together for a while now, enough that one might imagine them doing a better job of faking it.

No such luck. The Pixies took the stage at 9, did a no-frills, workmanlike job with the songs, and were outta there by 10:30. Everything sounded great, I have to admit, and Frank Black’s voice was as sterling as ever, but nobody on stage seemed to be having any more than a ho-hum time, and they were little interested in the audience. None of them spoke at all except bassist Kim Deal, and even then it was just to ask who was coming again on subsequent nights. She might have just come right out and said “We’re doing this for the money,” but she didn’t need to. It was already pretty clear. During a performance of Here Comes Your Man, separate images of the band members enjoying themselves and pleasantly bopping their heads up and down were projected behind the group, as if trying to inject a more amiable tone into a stage show that was otherwise stiff as rebar. It didn’t work. See for yourself.